Israeli troops kill Palestinian suspected of throwing rocks at them

JERUSALEM: Israeli troops on Thursday shot dead a Palestinian whom they suspected had thrown rocks at them as they patrolled a main West Bank road, the military said.

The Palestinian health ministry named him as 15-year-old Khaled Bahar from Beit Umar, near the city of Hebron in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

“Rocks were hurled at the soldiers, wounding one of them lightly. The force responded to the assault, calling on a suspect to halt, firing warning shots into the air and then towards the suspect, resulting in his death,” an army statement said.

“The incident is under review,” it added.

Over the past year, Palestinians, many acting alone and often using rudimentary weapons, have killed at least 35 Israelis and two visiting Americans in mainly street attacks.

At least 223 Palestinians have died in violent incidents in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Of those, 151 were identified by Israeli authorities as assailants, while others were killed during clashes and protests.

Palestinians have accused Israel of using excessive force and say that some of those killed posed no threat or had no intention of attacking anyone. In some cases, Israel has opened investigations into whether excessive force was used.

Palestinian leaders say the assailants are acting out of desperation over the collapse in 2014 of peace talks and the expansion of Israeli settlements on occupied land that Palestinians seek for an independent state.